Easiest method of installing DayZ mod and other relevant information

[BC_Hawke 276]

Here is some helpful information on the easiest method of installing the mod, how to find and join servers, and what to know about the mod if you're coming over from DayZ Standalone:

 

 

Installing the mod is easier than ever now that it's available on Steam!

 

What you need

To play DayZ mod, you need to purchase the following on Steam:

·       ArmA 2 (A2)

·       ArmA 2: Operation Arrowhead (A2OA)

 

You can purchase these two games as a bundle called ArmA 2: Combined Operations. The only other thing you need is to download/install DayZ mod via Steam.

 

How to install DayZ mod

Here's the step-by-step process for easily installing the mod:

·       Install and update A2/A2OA via Steam

·       Open and run A2/A2OA once each to create some necessary config files (even just getting to the main menu is far enough)

·       Install and update DayZ mod via Steam

·       Run DayZ mod via Steam

 

How to find servers

When trying out DayZ mod for the first time, I highly recommend joining a vanilla DayZ mod server. This means a server running the original DayZ mod defaults without adding all sorts of custom content like extra vehicles, starting loadouts, etc. Here is a list of vanilla DayZ mod servers. Finding a server you want to join in DayZ mod's multiplayer menu can be confusing, because the server list that populates will include servers for all sorts of other DayZ variant mods like Epoch/Origins/Overwatch/etc. I recommend using Gametracker (or reference the list of vanilla servers I posted above) to find the server you'd like and then manually entering the IP/port in the multiplayer menu. Here's how to manually connect to a server:

·       Open DayZ mod

·       Click on "multiplayer" to get to multiplayer menu

·       Click "remote" at the bottom and enter the IP/Port of the server you want to join

 

3rd party installers/launchers/browsers

Personally I recommend avoiding any 3rd party launchers since it is so easy to install/update via Steam now. 3rd party installers tend to end up being neglected by their developers and cause a lot of issues with installing the game. DayZ Commander was known as the go-to installer for DayZ mod but it has been neglected for a long time and causes all sorts of issues installing the mod, yet for some reason people still want to use it. It is possible to get it to work, but it has caused and avalanche of problems for people that are trying to get into the mod. Avoid it like the plague. You should really avoid any 3rd party installers if you can, but they are really handy for installing mod derivatives such as Epoch/Overpoch/etc and they usually have a server browser that you can use to favorite servers and filter them based on what mod you want to play. The official A2/DayZ mod installer is Play With Six but people say it's not very intuitive. It's also not specifically for DayZ but rather for a variety of A2/A3 mods.

 

A lot of mod players are using DayZ Launcher. I hear that it can be finicky but that it's the go-to installer currently.

 

Hope this information is helpful for some of you. Feel free to ask any questions, PM me, or hop on over to /r/dayzmod as there's a lot of knowledgeable people over there that can help you get started and playing. Many servers have a TeamSpeak server associated with their DayZ server and they're great for getting help or meeting up with other players.

Have fun trying out the mod!

 

 

Below is information I submitted before in a post titled "what you should know about DayZ mod if your coming over from SA"

 

I've been asked to repost this information that I posted a while back seeing as lately there's been a lot of SA players showing interest in getting into (or back into) the mod. I've updated it to reflect recent changes.

 

Incoming wall of text!! TL,DR below

 

A lot of SA players these days have been showing interest in trying out the mod. The thing is, though, DayZ mod has become very confusing because of a plethora of different server types and various mods of DayZ mod. Because of this, people often join a variant of DayZ that is completely different from what they thought the game would be, and immediately become disillusioned with the mod. I've found that a lot of SA players like the difficult survival aspects of DayZ but end up in mod servers with 1,000,000+ vehicles that spawn you with high end gear, not even realizing that this is a highly modified version of DayZ mod. Conversely, some people come try out the mod expecting to jump in a vehicle or helicopter within 5 minutes of spawning but join a vanilla server and get bored with it in 30 minutes.

Hopefully this will clear up some confusion for those of you who want to try the mod out for the first time.

 

What is "Vanilla" DayZ, and how do I find it?

 

A lot of people that are new to DayZ never actually experience the mod as it was intended because a majority of servers have altered the settings to make the game easier and more PvP and vehicle centered. People often refer any official DayZ mod server as "vanilla", but a lot of official DayZ mod servers have these custom settings. Vanilla DayZ refers to servers running the official DayZ mod with unaltered settings outside of a few predetermined basic ones like crosshairs, 1st/3rd person, full moon, and timezone. In other words, there are no added vehicles, buildings, or choppers beyond what is already in the original DayZ mod, you don't spawn with weapons, tools, or a backpack, and the server is on a real-time 24 hour day/night cycle. I always recommend to people trying the mod out for the first time to join vanilla DayZ servers so they can really experience the original game before going to custom modified servers or other mods.

 

However, finding vanilla servers can be difficult. Nearly every private hive server (note: all DayZ mod servers are now private hives now as the public hive is gone, though there are talks of bringing it back) has been heavily modified, so you have to look hard for vanilla servers that run the default settings that the public hive servers used to use. Most vanilla servers will have "vanilla" in the server title, so you can filter for "vanilla" either in the in-game server browser or at Gametracker.

 

Here's a list of some known vanilla DayZ mod servers.

 

You can join them by searching for their name in the in-game browser or by manually entering their IP/port by going to the multiplayer menu and clicking on the "remote" button at the bottom. Note that the Gametracker URL for each server has the IP/Port within it.

 

Public hive servers vs. private hive servers

 

This section is moot now that the public hive is gone, but it gives a little back story as to how DayZ mod private servers radically changed the game (for the worse IMO) so I'll leave it here. Just remember that instead of looking for public hives you should be looking for vanilla private hives to join now.

 

Much like SA, the official DayZ mod has a public database that stores your character's data. Your inventory, weapons, backpack, humanity, and outfit stay with you no matter what public hive server you join, though persistent items like tents and vehicles stay in the server that you left them in. Private hive servers have their own database, so your inventory, weapons, etc are unique to that server. Back when the DayZ mod public hive servers were getting hacked to death in late 2012/early 2013, private hives were the savior of DayZ mod because they could be much more closely monitored for hacking and some even had a whitelisting process to get in. The late BMRF servers were really well known for running quality servers that were for the most part hacker free and kept very close to DayZ's original intent. However, as time went on, the private hive servers became more and more heavily modified to attract players. This led to the state that DayZ mod is in now where a majority of servers are heavily modified with 24/7 daytime, added vehicles/choppers, map changes, the list goes on. It is regularly argued whether this has been for better or for worse, but that's a different conversation.

 

Mods of DayZ mod

 

This one is pretty well known, so not much needs to be said about it. Several mods of DayZ have been made, each focusing on different aspects of the game. Some of them add a lot of different aspects such as base building and more advanced crafting. Others focus on survival and minimalism, keeping true to the original idea of DayZ. By far the most popular mods right now are Epoch and Overwatch (and the hybrid Overpoch). Epoch focuses heavily on base building system they have implemented as well as a currency system. Overwatch has a plethora of added vehicles and weapons and focuses primarily on PvP. Another mod that used to be popular but is thinning out is DayZero, which focused on optimizing DayZ while adding building interiors and improved weapon models and sounds as well as map changes. There are many other mods such as Namalsk and 2017 to name a couple, but most of them have very few players. These mods are easily installed using a 3rd party installer like Play With Six or DayZ Launcher.

 

Some other popular questions:

 

What's with all the zombies!? I can't even pick up loot!

 

Believe it or not, SA will eventually have as many zombies as the mod (I hope). As most of you know, the current SA zombies are a WIP and due to limited server performance there are very few zombies. It can be easy to get mauled to death very quickly in the mod if you're not careful. The good thing is, in the mod you can sneak past zombies if you're stealthy (shift to walk, crouch, prone crawl if you have to) NOTE: you can do this now in SA as well. My original posting of this was before the new zombie AI was implemented. At night it's easy to sneak past them because it's harder for them to see and hear you. If you do aggro zombies, you can lose them by going into a building that has two entrances. The zombies can only walk indoors, so you can dash out the other exit and lose them. If there's no enterable buildings nearby, you can go through bushes and trees, and zig zag through fences/walls/buildings. You can lose the aggro if you do it right. Above all, find a melee weapon ASAP. When you pick it up, it will be on your tool belt. Open your inventory, right click on it, and click "remove from tool belt". The melee is far from perfect in the mod as Arma 2 didn't have a melee system. However, with practice, you can become really good at zombie slaying.

 

Why can't I go inside most of the buildings?

 

Arma 2 was a military sim that put very little focus on indoor CQC. The battles were fought on the fields of Chernarus as well as in the air above it. As a result very few buildings had interiors modeled. Unfortunately, the official DayZ mod devs are not allowed to modify the assets that make up the Chernarus map due to copyright. However, the DayZero mod added interiors to several buildings. I suggest checking it out.

 

What's with this crappy inventory?!

 

Yes, the DayZ mod inventory is very primitive and it has issues such as deleting items that you try to put into a full backpack. With some patience and practice the inventory becomes simple to use. I believe there's some how-to videos and forum posts out there that can help.

 

This game looks like shit!

 

Actually, for it's time, Arma 2 looked stunning, and is still a beautiful game today even though it lacks the lighting effects and highly detailed models in SA. Before you judge it, take a look at your settings. A lot of people immediately go for the "best FPS" settings, which is great for performance, but will severely impact the visual quality of the game. I suggest, even if it's just for a few minutes to test it out, turning all your settings up to high or very high (even shadows which has a big impact on visual quality), turn on anti-aliasing, setting ATOC to Arma 2 grass + trees, FXAA high sharp, and post processing to "low" or any setting higher than that. The game will look amazing compared to minimal settings. ALSO, if you haven't bought it, get the Arma 2 DLC Private Military Company and British Armed Forces. This DLC will add higher quality textures to certain models which improve the look of the game.

 

Hope this helps out anyone that wants to try DayZ mod. Feel free to respond here or PM me if you have any questions.

 

TL,DR: There are many variants of DayZ mod which people don't always understand when they try it out. There is vanilla DayZ (unmodified DayZ - see server list above), modified private hives with added features (easy to find these servers), and mods of DayZ mod. Look around to see which is right for you. I recommend trying vanilla first, then checking the other ones out! Be sure to read documentation on installing the proper Arma 2 OA patch to be able to join servers running different patches